James Spann: Some rain at times tonight, Saturday morning
James Spann forecasts some rain, heaviest in south Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
WET AT TIMES: A disturbance will bring some rain to Alabama over the next 48 hours. While a few sprinkles are possible today, most of the daytime will be dry. Clouds will increase with a high in the upper 60s. Rain is likely at times tonight and Saturday morning; the heaviest rain will come over southwest Alabama, where a Flash Flood Watch remains in effect for Mobile and Washington counties. A few strong storms are possible there as well.
But for the northern half of Alabama rain amounts will be light, generally less than a quarter of an inch. And for north and central Alabama most of the light rain will be over by noon Saturday. There will be some potential for rain late Saturday and Saturday night over the southern third of the state.
Saturday will be cloudy and cool, with a high only in the 62- to 66 -degree range. The average high for Birmingham on April 17 is 76. Sunday will be drier as the sky becomes partly sunny. Temperatures remain below average, with a high in the upper 60s.
NEXT WEEK: The weather looks quiet for much of the week. A cold front will pass through Tuesday night in mostly dry fashion, although it might squeeze out a few raindrops over the Tennessee Valley of far north Alabama. Very cool air for late April will drop into Alabama Wednesday; temperatures will struggle to get out of the 50s over the northern third of the state.
Thursday morning will be cold; most communities will see a low between 38 and 42 degrees, but for some of the colder valleys mid 30s are possible with a touch of light frost. A warming trend begins Thursday afternoon, and the next chance of rain will come late Friday or Saturday, April 23-24.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: Both Auburn and Alabama will hold their annual spring scrimmage games Saturday. The game in Tuscaloosa kicks off at noon; kickoff in Auburn is set for 1. Some light rain is likely Saturday morning across the state, but that will will be mostly gone by early afternoon. Expect dry but mostly cloudy weather in Tuscaloosa with temperatures in the 60s. Some lingering light rain is possible around kickoff in Auburn, but most of the game will be rain-free with overcast conditions. Temperatures there will also be in the 60s.
For the Magic City Classic at Legion Field in Birmingham Saturday night (Alabama State vs. Alabama A&M, kickoff 6:30 p.m.), the weather will be dry with a gradually clearing sky. Temperatures will fall from near 64 degrees at kickoff into the upper 50s by the final whistle.
ON THIS DATE IN 1851: “The Lighthouse Storm” of 1851 struck New England. Heavy gales and high seas pounded the coasts of New Hampshire and eastern Massachusetts. The storm arrived at the time of a full moon, and high tide was producing unusually high storm tides. The storm was so named because it destroyed the lighthouse at Cohasset, Massachusetts. Two assistant lighthouse keepers were killed there when the structure was swept away by the storm tide.
ON THIS DATE IN 2011: The same system that produced 45 tornadoes in Alabama on April 15 moved eastward; North Carolina was the hardest-hit state. Thirty confirmed tornadoes occurred in North Carolina, the greatest one-day total for North Carolina on record. A total of 24 people lost their lives in the state, with 13 tornadoes classified as strong (EF-3 or higher).
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